Travel vlogger Nick Maddock, an American who originally lived in Missouri, has had his worst experience so-far after travelling the world for eight years. The vlogger has been sharing his misadventures with his followers since he was hospitalised after a 15-hour-long train journey in the third-class AC compartment of an Indian Railways train.
According to the story he shared online, Maddock had been travelling aboard an Indian Railways train from the northern city of Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri in the east just before entering Bhutan and falling ill. The third-class AC compartment is the second-lowest class available on an Indian train, just above the general Sleeper class carriages without air conditioning.
“Listen, I love India. It has warm and generous people, endless scenic landscapes, and a rich and sacred history, I can acknowledge that while simultaneously saying that my 15 hour train (in 3rd class AC) from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguiri was one of the grossest things I’ve seen in my 6 years of traveling. No higher class was available. It doesn’t have to be like that. Three days later in Bhutan I was diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection. I’m doing better now but it’ll be a slow road to full recovery,” Maddock said in an Instagram post.
A viral video that sparks controversy
However, Maddock isn’t entirely sure whether or not his infection was caused by the train journey, although he considered the trip to be one of his grossest experiences ever. He stated that his hospitalisation could also have been caused by Varanasi, a Hindu city where he spent a week and saw bodies openly cremated along the Ganges river.
As his post went viral on social media, many internet users took the time to comment on his experience. Some of those comments agreed with Maddock, while others disagreed with his statements.
“The majority of the tourists go to the poorest and bad areas of all countries in Asia and then proclaim that the entire country is like that. This is because these travellers are not financially able to go to well to do areas, then whining,” an Instagram user called @fusion_sweden writes.
Others blame his symptoms on a weak immune system or a reaction to the high altitudes in Bhutan, while some wonder why – especially as a tourist – he didn’t take a plane instead of a train to make the journey.
Some of Maddock’s followers, however, speak in his defence, saying they had similar train experiences in India. French travel YouTuber Victor Blaho recently shared his experience of a 46-hour train journey through India online, stating those who wanted to make the trip should be either well-prepared or splurge on a more expensive ticket.
